Timberline Lodge — Hotel in Sandy

We had a really poor experience at Timberline.

We booked one-dog friendly room and a second room for my sister for an event (a showing of The Shining at the place it was filmed).

We knew check-in wasn't until 4, but we were exhausted from traveling and hoped we could check in early to the room that would allow us & the dogs to rest. We arrived at 12:30, ate a lunch on the patio, and then went to the front desk at ~2 p.m. We inquired - they said check-in wasn't until 4, but the room might be ready early and they'd call to let us know. A staffer stopped by to where we were waiting in the lobby once around 2:45 and said the room would be ready soon. We never saw him again. Once more, around 3:30, I asked the front desk if we could be let in - we didn't even care about cleaning- because we'd been sitting in the lobby since 1 p.m., exhausted. They said, no, we'd have to wait until 4. I would have preferred they say right out that the room would absolutely not be ready until 4 p.m., rather than us wait three hours, exhausted, in the lobby with our dogs on the hope that the room would be free.

Both times I inquired at the front desk, staff were almost aggressive about telling me that dogs were not allowed to be unaccompanied in the room. We were aware. We gave up a ticket to the event to ensure someone would be with the dogs. I understand the reasoning, but it should be ok for people with well-behaved dogs, to be able to leave to go eat at the restaurant or go to a 90 minute event. There's a fee for dogs to cover the possibility of destruction. That should be persuasion enough without aggressive reminders from staff.

The last dog-related thing that really was frustrating was that after all the hype about not leaving the dogs alone, not having the dogs off leash, having to walk through a maze to get the dogs in and out of our rooms so we didn't walk through the eating areas... we met the Lodge dog, Bruno, a huge St. Bernard (so cute!)

Bruno was very sweet, but has terrible recall. My sister's dog gets anxious on stairs and we ran into Bruno off-leash on the stairs with two leashed dogs. The woman in charge of him had a hard time getting his collar to gain control of him. Fortunately my sister had her dog in hand, but it was extremely frustrating that with all the overzealous communication about what our dogs were and weren't allowed to do that Bruno was just out walking around the hotel off-leash with poor recall he has and no one physically controlling him. It seemed very hypocritical and kind of capped off the experience at Timberline.

We also had very disappointing service at the Ram's Head. We went there for two meals - lunch and dinner. Unfortunately, since dogs aren't allowed, one of us had to sit out dinner (me) and stay in the room. The rest of my family had incredibly slow service. They went to the Ram's Head at 4:30 p.m. It took 15 minutes for a server to appear, and another 20 minutes for the first drink order. The food didn't come until 5:40. That meant that my food, which had to be brought back to the room, did not arrive until 6:05 p.m., which meant that all of us wound up missing a significant portion of the event we were at the Timberline for which began at 6 p.m., so that I could eat, and the dogs could be fed and walked.

If we'd been able to check into our room just half an hour earlier, we might have been able to enjoy the whole event.

We did come back to Ram's Head after the event, and the server we had the second time was great. We also stopped by the event bar. Big ups to the two women working the bar during The Shining event - they were fantastic and helped turn around what had started out being a very frustrating day.

I did stop by the Wy'East gift store, and it was well-stocked, and had very helpful staff members who helped me locate a particular kind of souvenir.

So - gorgeous location, gorgeous lodge, really neat space, but so much of my experience was hampered by the terrible service at the front desk and the restaurant that I can't recommend Timberline to anyone in...

Was there on 3/29/2024 morning staff were very good, but the night staff were extremily rude (front desk staff). We came there as a group of 2. The one group is composed of 2 adults with 2 little kids. The locking mechaninsm on their main door was malfunctioning. The door will basically lock upon closing it and is almost impossible to open even with the provided key. This issue was brought up immediately, but was basically down played by the staff. We went for dinner about 6 PM and pretty much stayed at the restaurant for over an hour. Upon our return, we realized that nothing done to fix the door even though the issue was brought up at about 4 PM. By about 8 PM the family was trapped inside (mom and her 2 little girls). This obviously put a lot of stress and anxiety on the entire family and the other group that is very close to this family. The door was eventually opened, but trauma has been made. Somehow, I do not think they understood the potential safety risk that can result from this issue. They eventually decided to move our 2 groups to a nearby condominium as they cannot fix the locking mechanism of the door. We finally got inside the condominium at about 11 PM after waiting outside for almost an hour.

Shortly after getting inside the condominium, I Called the front desk staff at about 11 PM to get my call transferred to the restaurant. I was trying to inquire if I left my credit card at the restaurant. The person at the restaurant who took my call, informed me that they have not seen a credit card with my name and that I should check with the front desk staff. I called back again to speak with the front desk per instructions from the restaurant staff. The person who I believe is a woman answered my call and relialized that I was the same person the she spoke with just a few minutes ago became very frustrated, upset and basically told me to just email the lodge management regarding my lost credit card and immediately hung up on me without a warning. I was obviously frustrated, but kept my composure. I called back again a few mins after that incident and this time a man answered my call with the same rudeness as the previous person. I could not believe how extremely rude and unhelpful these 2 individuals. The man who answered my call does not want to give his full name or the full name of the other person upon my request and immediately hung up on me without a warning.

I strongly believe that these 2 inviduals have been doing this kind of rude behaviors for quite sometime as they so comfortably able to do this on a very simple phone call. I hope the management investigates this matter and hopefully they have the recordings of my...

Where to start! The Lodge....nothing compares! The staff....exceptional service no matter where you are in the hotel! The views...hmmmm what's better than Mt Hood shining in all her glory no matter what time of year you visit the lodge! The atmosphere....perfect! Truly. It is a step back in time with all the comforts of an alpine lodge, the settings of a year round ski resort, the fire place with a 90-foot chimney that encompasses the main lodge filled with nearly a century of wood burning fires. You cannot help but sit in the ambiance of the lodge and imagine the stories being told around the fire place, the skiers who braved the slopes, the mountaineers who summited the peak, the echoes of the men and women who braved the winters to work during the Great Depression to build a historic monument. The lodge is nothing shy of remarkable.

Now for the food. Nothing feels better than sitting in an alpine lodge eating some of the best food in the PNW. When sitting in the Ram's Head Bar, enjoying a bowl of the Timberline Chili, it feels like home. In much appreciation of their Zero-Proof beverages, the Blueberry Lavendar Spritz hits the spot every time. When visiting the Blue Ox Bar for the best pizza in the state, be sure to ask for a side of their Hot Honey. Not sure if they started selling it with their alpine water, but they should. The hot honey is the perfect addition atop any of their handmade crusted pizzas. Now the Cascade Dining room boasts the filling and delicious breakfast buffet. The dinner service though is a 5-star experience.

Blessed to have been able to stay the weekend over the fourth of July to avoid fireworks for the dog, we were thrilled to enjoy the new pool and hot tub the size of a standard swimming pool. Timberline sparred no expense with designing and installing the outdoor pool area.

Cannot say enough about the value Timberline brings to the community, international visitors, adventurers, hikers, skiers, historians and even foodies. Take time to read the history about the Lodge before visiting. Or walk the halls, visit the museum, learn about the labor, engineering, craftsmanship and artistic talents to create a legendary piece of our nations history. Oh and don't forget to grab a photo with the Heidi or Bruno. The lodges mascots since its opening.

THANK YOU Timberline staff and management for maintaining a piece of history that has brought so many people together for nearly a century. Heartfelt thanks for making Timberline Lodge the coolest...